Help what's wrong with my beardie

[Ryan15236]

Hey I have a 9 year old bearded dragon and I am not sure what is wrong with him...he is shaking his head violently, like he is tryin to sling something off of it. He is also not eating right now. All this has really started happening over the last 4 days or so. I have suspected mbd. So I got a a calcium supplement to dust the crickets and added A mercury vapor 100w bulb. Also running a 18 in repti sun 5.0 bulb. I just gave him a bath as well to hopefully relieve any compactation he might have. What else can I do?

 

[Ryan15236]

Impaction I meant to say. Also I have been feeding him mealworms quite heavily the last 2 weeks bcs they were on sale and I picked up a bunch. I have read that some of the symptoms I have described could also be from a pretty severe Impaction. Also before the mercury vapor bulb I used a regular basking along with the tube. Also for got to mention he has been glass surfing almost constantly all day and really the last couple of days and he fell on his back today and I had to flip him back over and still not eating. He seems a lot calmer though now since I added the vapor bulb. Also tank is a 40 gallon breeder

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....It's not MBD, sounds like he's trying to vomit up the mealworms.....that's why he's throwing his head around. Just give him time, a warm bath every day for about 10 minutes [ but stay right with him ] and if he seems impacted get some baby food prunes, and/or canned pumpkin, applesauce and add a few drops of veg. oil + honey. It's best not to feed mealworms in large amounts, they are harder to digest than many other insects. Hopefully he'll be O.K.

 

[Ryan15236]

Ok does that still explain why he fell over and couldn't flip back over or did he just really accidentally fall off his rock and couldn't flip himself back over. Next question if it isn't mbd should I return the mercury vapor bulb and just go back to the basking light and tube fluorescent bulb. I dot want to overdo the UVB

 

[Ryan15236]

 

[Ryan15236]

 

[Ryan15236]

There's some pics of my beardie and his set up. Sorry just worried about him, had him since I was about 13. It's been about 8 or 9 years.

 

[AHBD]

Aw, he's really cute and having him that long I know he's a real buddy I guess I somehow missed the flipping over, and yes that can be some type of imbalance but it can also be connected with the large amount of mealworms if he's impacted. Also, that calcium sand or crushed walnut can also cause impaction. What type of MVB do you have ? It should be providing a good amount of UVB along with the 5.0.

 

[Ryan15236]

It's a power sun 100w bulb...but I just added it also like I said about an hour ago and he almost immediately quit running around and glass surfing. I would just feel a lot better if he would eat. It's calcium sand substrate. I have had problems with Impaction in the past but the baths always did the trick and he never quit eating or threw his head

 

[Ryan15236]

Here is a video let me know if you all can view it

 

[Esther19]

The video worked. What it looks like to me is that he is head bobbing and stamping at his reflection.
Others might have a different opinion.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

You are using the calcium sand right now? I would recommend changing that out just in case that could be contributing to the issues currently.
Do you leave crickets in with him often?
Has he ever exhibited this type of behavior before?
The Powersun will be fine being used in conjunction with the Reptisun 5 tube bulb.
How is he doing this evening?

Tracie

 

[Ryan15236]

Alright well I will get to changing that out, what's recommended? And I only put in what he will eat in one feeding which is usually around 30-40. But he hasn't touched any of these still. I have him another bath today for about 15 minutes, I also added a little calcium to the water in hopes of some absorption since he isn't eating still, been like 4 days since he has ate. The glass surfing and throwing his head however has almost completely stopped. He is just kinda sitting around all day but he is alert. Closest herpatologist is about a hour an a half away so I'm really trying to get to the bottom of this myself but I think I'm going to have to make an appointment.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Great, I am happy to hear he isn't throwing his head back & having a fit in his tank. It sounds like it could have been calcium related.
You can use non adhesive shelf liner, paper towels, tiles, or even a carpet or felt, too. Whichever is easier for you to find.
Sure, that is fine. I was just wondering if maybe the crickets were stressing him out any.
You can get some liquid calcium to get into him since he isn't eating a lot right now. You can get some chicken or turkey baby food along with squash or sweet potato baby food mixed in, along with calcium powder to help him out.
I am glad he is alert though, that is a great sign!
Let us know he is doing.

Tracie

 

[Ryan15236]

Update on Gomez. Still not eating. He has quit the running back and forth and throwing his head. He can still hold himself up but seems to be getting weaker, I am at a loss on what to do. I don't know if he is just getting old, or his impacted, or onset of mbd, maybe even an inner ear infection. Vet isn't open until Monday but I don't know if he will make it till then, if anyone knows anything I can do please let me know, thanks.